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Hollywood film stunt pilot to race at Petit Le Mans

October 9, 2012

David Calvert-Jones had been having some solid success in the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama series. However, he will be participating in the Petit Le Mans next week.

Australian racer David Calvert-Jones will make his American Le Mans Series debut in next week's 15th annual Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, sharing the No. 24 Norton by Symantec Porsche 911 GT3 with co-drivers Bob Faieta and Michael Avenatti with Competition Motorsports. The team will compete in the GTC class.

Calvert-Jones, who goes by "CJ," is completing his rookie season in the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama series. He is currently second in the Gold Cup championship standings, with eight podium results from 10 starts, including a victory at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in July. CJ will be pulling "triple duty" at Road Atlanta, competing in both races of the GT3 Cup season-ending doubleheader in addition to the Petit Le Mans. Calvert-Jones moved to Los Angeles eight years ago in hopes of becoming a Hollywood stunt pilot. He's found work on several productions, but bought a Porsche GT3 Cup car from Alex Van Halen and fell in love with racing.

"Racing at the Petit Le Mans is the biggest challenge I've faced in motorsport, without a doubt," said CJ, who previously competed in historic and club racing prior to this season in GT3 Cup. "I'm grateful to Norton by Symantec, who have supported me throughout the year in GT3 Cup Challenge, for also making this event possible. I'm also very privileged to move into GTC with Competition Motorsports, Bob Faieta and Michael Avenatti. Bob and the guys at Competition Motorsports have done a fantastic job prepping my car throughout the GT3 Cup season, and I have no doubt that the No. 24 Porsche will be up to the challenge at Petit."

While the 2012 Petit Le Mans will be CJ's first ALMS race, Avenatti and Faieta both bring valuable experience. Avenatti has made six ALMS starts this season in the GTC class alongside Faieta. He is also a veteran of IMSA GT3 Cup and has competed in the Rolex 24 At Daytona.

"I am very excited to be teamed with CJ and Bobby for the race, and I have every reason to believe that we are going to be incredibly competitive," Avenatti said. "Anytime you can race with close friends, it's an added benefit. The three of us, over the last year, have become very close friends. We like each other, we respect each other both on an off the track, and for that reason, it's even more exciting to be able to race with both of these guys. I think a realistic expectation is for us to finish on the podium."

Faieta is the founder of Competition Motorsports, which prepares the No. 24 Porsche the trio will race in the Petit Le Mans, as well as CJ's No. 12 Norton by Symantec Porsche in the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama among many other Porsche race cars. Faieta is a three-time GT3 Cup Challenge champion and has made 12 ALMS starts in GTC, with one victory, one pole position and six podium results. He is very familiar with what it takes to be successful in the grueling Petit Le Mans.

"It's a long race, it's a relatively tough track, and 10 hours is a lot about the mechanical and the physical," Faieta said. "We're going to all be sharing the driving, so CJ is going to have to do some long stints in the race car, longer than he's used to, but I think he's up for the challenge. We all get along really well and we all seem to have the same interest in winning the race and the same drive, so it should be a good combination of the three of us. The only difference between us is CJ is a lot taller than Michael and me, so we're going to have to get over that hurdle, but we should be able to get it done."

The 15th annual Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda is 10 hours or 1,000 miles around the incredibly fast and challenging 2.54-mile Road Atlanta circuit. The event - which attracts top road racing talent from all over the world - closes out the 2012 American Le Mans Series schedule.